The 2027 Presidential Candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has said that the growing hunger of Nigerian citizens will get worse unless the people enthrone leaders who have citizens’ welfare at heart.

Reacting to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) alarm that over 17 million Nigerians in the North are at risk of acute hunger, Obi said that Nigeria is a food basket and only an incompetent leadership can drag the country into such a horrible situation.

Writing on his X handle on Saturday, Obi said: “The recent report from the UN about the impending food crisis in northern Nigeria is disheartening, more so because it is avoidable. Northern Nigeria is the nation’s food basket, and nothing short of incompetent and irresponsible leadership could have created this tragedy.

“In a recent post on his X handle, he urged our national leaders to reassess their priorities and address the dire circumstances facing our citizens. He called on the Federal Government and state leaders to move beyond mere political discourse and make transparent, upfront investments to secure agricultural corridors, support smallholder farmers with accessible resources, and collaborate vigorously with organisations like the World Food Programme (WFP) to bridge funding gaps before this crisis escalates and claims more lives, especially those of children.

“A prosperous Nigeria, free from hunger, is achievable, but it requires leadership that prioritises the welfare of its citizens.

“I am deeply troubled by the latest report from the UN’s World Food Programme, indicating that northern Nigeria is experiencing its most severe hunger crisis in nearly a decade. Over 17 million people in nine northern states face crisis-level hunger, with more than 35 million Nigerians nationwide at risk during this challenging season.

“The fact that over 10,000 residents of Borno State have entered ‘catastrophic’ hunger conditions represents not only immense human suffering but also a profound national failure. Nigeria should not rank among the world’s hungriest nations, given its abundant resources, particularly the vast stretches of fertile, uncultivated land in the North.

“This food crisis stems from two critical structural failures: insecurity and farmers’ inability to access their lands. Banditry and insurgency have turned agrarian communities into displacement zones. Until we secure our agricultural areas, we cannot secure our future.

“Our global hunger ranking continues to worsen because of our proclivity for adopting superficial measures that do little to boost agricultural productivity or transform rural infrastructure. We need to adopt policies that address the structural barriers to agricultural productivity and transform our land resources into agro-industrial output. We can overcome hunger and poverty if we urgently shift our focus from consumption to production.

“A new Nigeria, devoid of hunger and mass poverty – a Nigeria where we transform our arable land into productive acreage – remains attainable, but it demands leadership that values the lives and livelihoods of the Nigerian people above grandiose road dualisation projects.

“A new Nigeria is possible.”

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